Japan's launch of a helicopter-carrying destroyer may signal its ambition to expand its naval capabilities and eventually join international coalitions
abroad.

The 13,500-ton DDH 181 Hyuga, launched on Aug. 23 at the IHI Marine United shipyard in Yokohama, was viewed by some as Japan's first aircraft carrier since
World War II.

The Hyuga has some similarities to an aircraft carrier or amphibious warfare ship, including a flush landing deck and starboard island structure.

But the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) classifies the vessel as a helicopter-carrying destroyer dedicated to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and
humanitarian/logistic support.

A total of four are planned to replace the two Haruna-class and two Shirane-class DDHs in the ASW role.

"The ships are designed to serve as flagships for the JMSDF flotilla, making use of command-and-control functions while operating its shipborne
helicopters to conduct ASW, MIA operations, etc., unilaterally or in concert with U.S. forces," said Sumihiko Kawamura, deputy director of The Okazaki
Institute, Tokyo. "The Hyuga is a big step forward to demonstrate Japan's capability to construct full-fledged aircraft carriers in the future."

The ship includes the FCS-3, a small version of the Aegis phased-array radar.

"The Hyuga will operate in conjunction with the Atago and Kongo classes, providing an integrated ASW and AAW capability within the FEF [Far Eastern
Fleet]," said Richard Dorn, naval analyst for U.S.-based AMI International. "No doubt, the Hyuga, like the Atago and Kongo classes, will be able to
integrate with the U.S. fleet, as many Japanese systems are either U.S. systems or based on U.S. systems."

One Japanese defense analyst with close ties to the Tokyo government suggested the new warship will engage in operations beyond those involving simple
helicopters, and may be outfitted with more advanced fighters in the future.

"It cannot be denied that the launch of Hyuga is targeted at carrying the Harriers or F-35s in the future," the analyst said. "It is only
natural given Japan-U.S. joint operations in the future."

Public images of the ship were not made immediately available.

The ship will carry three SH-60J anti-submarine helicopters and one CH-53E Super Stallion multipurpose helicopter. It can handle 11 aircraft in its hangar. It
also has surface-to-air missiles, ASW torpedoes and two Phalanx air defense systems.

"Just as the JMSDF's other Aegis-class ships are understated as destroyers, so is the SDF Hyuga understated as a destroyer," Peter Woolley,
author of the book, "Japan's Navy: Politics and Paradox," said. "It is a light carrier. But it is similar to light carriers maintained by
European nations including Britain, Italy and Spain. Thailand also has a light carrier exported from Spain."

The ship is named for a World War II-era hybrid battleship/carrier that could carry 22 fighters, a decision not lost on defense analysts.

"The DDHs are designated as destroyers so as to avoid the taboo on Japan's possession of aircraft carriers. The DDHs, though, are a different sort of
vessel," said Christopher Hughes, author of the book, "Japan's Re-emergence as a Normal Military Power."

Hughes said the class are destroyers "in the sense that they have the Aegis system, the [vertical launch system] for missiles, and the helicopters, all
allowing Japan to engage in anti-submarine warfare," he said.

"But they also clearly are following the trend with other navies by giving Japan a flexible asset suitable for a number of roles, including anti-ship
activities, support for amphibious landings, search and rescue, emergency evacuations, etc."

"The DDHs really are a form of mini-helicopter carrier, although still relatively small in tonnage, but allowing Japan to rehearse helicopter/aircraft
carrier technologies," Hughes said.

Japan's decision to build an ASW pseudo-carrier was partly motivated by the growing Chinese submarine force. China has acquired eight Russian-built
Kilo-class diesel subs over the past 10 years, and recent intrusions into Japanese waters by Chinese submarines have unnerved Tokyo.

"China's submarine force expansion may have been one of the motivating factors for Japan to develop this class of new ships, but Japan had already
maintained a formidable ASW capacity since the Soviet era," said Yoichiro Sato of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu. "Its fleet
of land-based P-3C Orions is fully capable of ASW operations in Japan's neighborhood."

The ship's expanded aviation capabilities will give the Japanese Navy more flexibility in humanitarian and logistic support for U.S. and U.N. operations.

"While the new ship may enable Japan to conduct ASW operations in distant waters, the more immediate and likely applications seem to be disaster relief
and logistic operations," Sato said. "These operations, however, often require interoperability between the Maritime SDF [Self-Defense Force] and the
Ground SDF, and Japan is notoriously poor at that."

Woolley agrees: "The launching of JDS Hyuga is a confirmation that in the post-Soviet era, Japan intends to maintain a modern and extremely competent
naval force, expand its range of capabilities at sea, and prepare for the possibilities of participating in U.N. or U.S. coalition operations further
abroad."

Last Thursday, as hundreds of guests watched, a naval vessel with a large flight deck reminiscent of a light aircraft carrier was launched at the IHI Marine
United shipyard in Yokohama, Japan.

The 13,500-ton vessel Hyuga, a helicopter-carrying destroyer for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, made its magnificent presence known to the public for
the first time. The name comes from an Imperial Navy warship that saw action in World War II. The original Hyuga was a battleship, but toward the end of the
war it was modified into a unique aircraft-carrying battleship that could load some 20 fighters. The new Hyuga-class vessel meanwhile can carry several
choppers and is mainly tasked with chasing and destroying enemy submarines.
Despite minimal attention from the Korean press, the launch of the Hyuga is worth noting for several reasons. First, the Hyuga, which is also known as 16DDH,
is Japan's largest warship since World War II, and it's the Maritime Self-Defense Force's first warship greater than 10,000-tons. The Hyuga is also
equipped with a state-of-the-art radar system, likened to a mini Japanese version of the Aegis system. The radar can cover all directions around the clock just
as the Aegis does.

What's most noteworthy about the vessel is the debate over what exactly it is. Japan officially calls it a helicopter-carrying destroyer, claiming it is
neither a light aircraft carrier nor a helicopter carrier. But many Korean and foreign media outlets are calling it Japan's first post-war helicopter
carrier or light aircraft carrier. Japan plans to operate four to six of the ships, each with a hangar and deck for up to 11 choppers. Four SH-60
anti-submarine helicopters can lift off from the Hyuga flight deck at the same time. It doesn't carry vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and is not
equipped with the special "ski jump" decks needed for fixed-wing jets to take off.

Experts point out that the Hyuga is not a light aircraft carrier for now, but it can still serve as a helicopter carrier. In contrast to Japan's
Haruna-class helicopter destroyer, which carries only three choppers, the Hyuga can carry nearly four times as many, greatly improving the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's helicopter operation capabilities. The Hyuga is much larger than the 8,900-ton Oosumi-class vessels, a large landing ship that
prompted a public outcry that it could be rebuilt into a light aircraft carrier. The Hyuga can also function as a flagship commanding a fleet and as a disaster
rescue command station.

Also worth noting is that the launch of the Hyuga has laid the foundation for the Maritime Self-Defense Force to achieve its long-cherished desire to possess
an aircraft carrier. Despite Japan's defeat in World War II, the Maritime Self-Defense Force long had a dream of operating an aircraft carrier. During the
peak Cold-War years in the 1960s, it wanted to build a 10,000-ton anti-submarine helicopter carrier with a large flight deck. America's military advisory
group approved the idea, and Japan pushed to build it with partial funding from the U.S. Seething public opinion and a lack of budget saw the plan scrapped.
Haruna and Shirane helicopter-carrying destroyers were built instead, and now as they begin to age the Hyuga has been launched to replace them.

So now Japan's dream of building a helicopter carrier has come true after some 40 years of twists and turns. The Hyuga-class ships are clearly important
vessels to pay attention to.

Sargon

'I have a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel.'
Capt. Edmund Blackadder, from 'Blackadder Goes Forth'

That really looks a lot like a Kongo's superstructure bolted onto a light carrier's hull. It is a very attractive ship, though, and probably the most
powerful single (conventional) vessel in the Far East that doesn't fly the American flag.

tassilo27 wrote:
That really looks a lot like a Kongo's superstructure bolted onto a light carrier's hull. It is a very attractive ship, though, and probably the most
powerful single (conventional) vessel in the Far East that doesn't fly the American flag.

Really? I'd put HTMS Chakri Nareubet and whichever Kirov is in Vladivostok ahead- plus the Varyag of course, but that doesn't count!

Chakri Nareubet doesn't have the defensive capabilities of Hyuga by a mile (doesn't Hyuga have VLS cells in quantity?). The Harriers onboard are also
IIRC inoperable (due to advanced age and the lack of spare parts) and the Nareubet operates S-70s. I'd much rather have Hyuga in a helicopter-carrier role
than the older ship.

How many of the Kirov-class ships are even operational now? Four at most? Are any assigned to the Pacific Fleet? If one is, then sure, it's gonig to be
more powerful than Hyuga is. But how often does that ship sail, even now? And how well maintained is it? Sure, it carries a huge amount of firepower, but
it's also very maintenance intensive and not necessarily everything's going to be working.

tassilo27 wrote:
That really looks a lot like a Kongo's superstructure bolted onto a light carrier's hull. It is a very attractive ship, though, and probably the
most powerful single (conventional) vessel in the Far East that doesn't fly the American flag.

Really? I'd put HTMS Chakri Nareubet and whichever Kirov is in Vladivostok ahead- plus the Varyag of course, but that doesn't count!

Maybe you should have said the ex- Varyag, because the current Varyag in the Russian navy is in fact the third Slava class cruiser which is in service in
the Pacific Fleet (although under reduced manning since 2002).

Time to wake this thread up again. Her sister ship 18DDH has now been given the inevitable name, Ise, as I predicted as soon as I knew the name of the first of class.

Next time I am in the city she is named for, I will raise a glass of the local Shinto beer (made by the oldest firm in the country which brews beer, winners of
Champion beer of Japan at the Great Japan Beer Festival 2005 - http://www.isekadoya.com/ ) to her.
There's a rather good izakaya
in the same street as my partners grandparents house there - or maybe we could visit the brewery & its own pub, which are within walking distance. Any
excuse, eh?